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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. race — a contest
  3. present — there
  4. craft — a skill
  5. plane — a tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. can — a tin
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cap — a hat
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. can — a tin
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cap — of ice
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. can — to be able to
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cap — a lid
  21. craft — boats
  22. present — the time now
  23. spring — of water
  24. race — humankind

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com